Prevalence of Depression and Suicidal Thoughts amongst University Students in Poznan, Poland, Preliminary Report

Abstract

Objective: The goal of the study was to evaluate the prevalence of depression and suicidal thoughts in first year university students in Poznan, Poland and to assess whether they were connected with demographic factors such as age, having brothers or sisters, a specific social background or living arrangements, one’s major and the mode of the study program. Method: 210 freshmen, who were 18 - 28 years old (M = 19.81; SD = 1.18) anonymously answered a questionnaire on their perception of the risk of depression (KADS) and another demographics survey, including questions about age, having brothers/sisters, background, place of residence, living arrangements and their major (curriculum focus). Results: The analysis has shown that as many as 36 subjects (17.1%) were at risk of depression and 18 of them (8.6%) had suicidal thoughts. Among analyzed factors such as age, having brothers or sisters, social background, living arrangements, curriculum major and the mode of study, only the financial status was found to have a statistically significant influence on both susceptibility to depression and suicidal thoughts. Conclusion: It may be suggested that financial status most frequently influences depression in first year students but other agents leading to depression in students have not been clearly figured out or taken into account in screening tools for depression. So, further research is necessary to find out factors, which perhaps single-handedly or in connection with others, lead to or correlate with depression in college students.